View Full Version : The Movie Review Thread


Brian
05-26-2005, 09:14 PM
Before I choose what movie to watch, I like to see what others think about it. This thread is reserved for movies that you have seen recently and want to write a review about. It would be very helpful to other SO members who frequent this board. Only a few guidelines:

1. Please try to avoid spoilers if you can. If you want to insert one anyway, put the word "spoiler" on the top of the post and then put several lines below it, enough so that the person can't see the spoiler without scrolling down. Please keep in mind that if you include a spoiler, it will probably not be read, since most of the people reading them will probably not have seen the movie.

2. No one-word reviews, please. You should say why you liked the movie or didn't like it and why you recommend it or not. It doesn't have to be a full-blown review, a few sentences should be fine. Don't feel obligated to write too much.

3. Any rating system should be fine and is highly recommended. I generally use the * to **** type rating. Other ratings you could use are on a scale from 1-10, 1-5, :thumbsup:, :thumbsdow, etc. Whatever works best for you.

*MIBabe03*
05-26-2005, 09:19 PM
Okay. The last movie that I sat and watched was Clueless. I'll give it an 8 out of 10. It's the classic 1990's film man. I mean it has some funny lines that people still remember. I also enjoyed how the school and people are really exagerrated.

Brian
05-26-2005, 09:42 PM
Movie: The China Syndrome


4 stars (out of 4)


I do not give perfect scores lightly. One of the best movies I have ever seen. Jane Fonda is perfect as the reporter who uncovers a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant. Scores bulls-eye on everything and what makes this a great movie is that the China Syndrome could really happen (explaination of it below). Builds up a lot towards the end. I highly recommend this film.

The China Syndrome, by the way, is what happens when the core of a nuclear power plant is exposed. You can find out more with a few minutes of research.

Brian Damage
05-29-2005, 12:57 AM
Team America

3 stars (out of 4)

An excellent comedy from the creators of South Park. This movie is NOT for kids!!! Very funny film about a team of people that save the world from terrorists. There is alot of pop culture references to Michael Moore, Kim Jong Ilk, Hans Blix, The Matrix, Hollywood actors and much more.

*MIBabe03*
05-29-2005, 02:09 PM
Team America

3 stars (out of 4)

An excellent comedy from the creators of South Park. This movie is NOT for kids!!! Very funny film about a team of people that save the world from terrorists. There is alot of pop culture references to Michael Moore, Kim Jong Ilk, Hans Blix, The Matrix, Hollywood actors and much more.

I've wanted to see that movie for a long time! I'm going to tell my parents to rent that one for me later, since they are renting another movie for my sister.

Brian Damage
05-29-2005, 09:05 PM
Madagascar

3 out of 4 stars

I saw this movie with my children today and I was pleased with it. It is from the makers of Shrek. It's about 4 friends, a lion, a zebra, a hippo and a giraffe who are sent from the Central Park Zoo to the wild in Africa. It's a movie of how the 4 cope with first being spoiled in a zoo, to making it on their own in the wild. The movie had its funny moments. It is not as funny as Shrek, but cute none the less.

Brian
06-04-2005, 01:55 PM
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith


3 stars (out of 4)


I thought this was the best Star Wars movie out of the prequel trilogy by far. It isn't the best Star Wars film, though, in my eyes (that would go to Return of the Jedi, in my opinion). It is a great movie but it is also very dark and sad, just like George Lucas promised. It also acts as a good setup for episodes 4, 5, and 6. This film now makes me want to see those movies again. Only thing that feels weird is that episodes 4-6 had different and lower special effects by todays standards as opposed to episodes 1-3 (which had computer-generated special effects).

barwars
06-04-2005, 02:11 PM
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith


3 stars (out of 4)


I thought this was the best Star Wars movie out of the prequel trilogy by far. It isn't the best Star Wars film, though, in my eyes (that would go to Return of the Jedi, in my opinion). It is a great movie but it is also very dark and sad, just like George Lucas promised. It also acts as a good setup for episodes 4, 5, and 6. This film now makes me want to see those movies again. Only thing that feels weird is that episodes 4-6 had different and lower special effects by todays standards as opposed to episodes 1-3 (which had computer-generated special effects).


My personal opinion of the same film....


Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

4 stars (out of 4)

Easily the best film of the prequel triology, this was the best Star Wars since "Empire" IMO. The battles were spectacular, and the storyline was perfect. Everything seemed to fit perfectly. Minimal JarJar, a peak at Chewbacca's planet, Yoda kicking ass with the lightsaber yet again, the infamous Skywalker/Kenobi showdown, and Anakin's turn to the darkside made everything a Star Wars fan has always imagined come true. My only complaint about the entire film is one scene in which Anakin meets Palpatine at some sort of concert with these weird glowing balls, as if it were some opera. Even with this very bizarre moment, this film left me leaving the theater as happy as can be.... twice.

My only major disappointment is that this is it. There is no more. If and when the rumored TV series come, it better be just as good as this. Because as of now, "Star Wars" successfully left on top.

barwars
06-04-2005, 02:18 PM
Without A Paddle

2 Stars (out of 4)

Seth Green, Matthe Lillard, and Dax Shepard star as three adult friends who set off on a camping trip/treasure hunt. This comedy isn't terrible funny, and the scenes with the wilderness man played by Burt Reynolds somewhat ruin an otherwise fun film. Seth Green and Matthew Lillard are two likeable, funny characters.... but something about Dax Shepard annoys me. (for those of you unfamiliar with names.... he was a common culprit on the first few seasons of "Punk'd")

Eddie Haskell
06-06-2005, 01:47 AM
Cinderella Man

Nine ********* out of 10

This wasn't just a movie about boxing, it was about life in the Depression and how people cope with adversity. Russell Crowe was terriffic as James J. Braddock and Paul Giamatti was superb as his Manager.

At times I thought I would burst into tears like a fat girl who finds out her favorite donut shop has turned into a Jiffy Lube. Well, maybe not that drastic but you get the picture.

I would highly recommend this movie for anyone who takes their worldly possessions for granted and needs to see how things were in the past.

As a boxing fan, I'd say that the fight scene between Crowe and Craig Bierko (Max Baer) was superb.

That's all I got on this one.....

Brian
06-06-2005, 09:48 PM
Inherit the Wind

4 stars (out of 4)


This is one of the best movies ever. A masterpiece. A must-see for all film buffs. Why?

The story is derived from the controversial "Scopes Monkey Trial" in 1925. A Tennessee biology teacher named John T. Scopes taught Darwin's theory of evolution instead of creationism, despite a state law barring such a thing. He was arrested and put on trial. It was one of the first cases of "media sensationalism," thus giving it the name of "Monkey Trial."

That story is recreated with fictitious characters. Spencer Tracy plays Henry Drummond (Clarence Darrow), who defends Bertram T. Cates (Scopes), played by Dick York. Opposing them is prosector Matthew Harrison Brady (William Jennings Bryan), an expert on the Bible and eager to defend the law to the last stand. Covering the case is E.K. Hornbeck (H.L. Mencken, who covered the real trial).

This is probably the best courtroom movie ever made and the irony of it is that it isn't a murderer, rapist, or a violent person being put on trial. It's a teacher who is accused of defying the law and teaching evolution.

Brian Damage
06-10-2005, 11:41 PM
Old Boy

5 out 5 Stars!!!

The best movie I've seen so far this year and one of the best best movies I've seen in years! It is a Korean movie with English subtitles. I know that alot of people don't care for subtitles, but after a little bit, you'll get use to them. The ending is a complete shocker. One of the greatest endings you'll see. You won't see it coming. I highly recommend this movie. Here is a brief summary of the film.

An average man is kidnapped and imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that not only his kidnapper has still plans for him, but that those plans will serve as the even worse finale to 15 years of imprisonment.

"Old Boy," won the grand prize from the Cannes jury at the 57th Cannes International Film Festival.

Brian
06-15-2005, 02:44 PM
Porky's

2 and a half stars (out of 4)

This was one helluva funny movie but unfortunately it occurred in patches. At least they were very hilarious patches. I loved it anyway. This is not something that you should watch with your kids, girlfriends, parents, or polite people because there is a lot of nudity, crude jokes, lots of talk about sex, and adult humor.

20 Million Miles to Earth

3 stars (out of 4)

William Hopper (Drake on TV's Perry Mason) plays a sole survivor on a voyage to Venus who recovers from a crash in Rome that killed 16 other crew members. He had brought back a jelly specimen from the planet that got lost in the crash. Someone finds it, sells it, and pretty soon a reptilian-like creature hatches from it. This creature starts growing as it breathes in more oxygen. The Roman police and American troops capture it and bring it to a zoo for study. The now-giant creature then escapes and wreaks havoc on the city of Rome. Great stop-motion animation and special effects for its time (the 1950s).

The Blob (1958)

2 stars (out of 4)

So maybe every movie starring Steve McQueen isn't great. This is one of his first films and it is not as good as his later films. A meteor crashes on Earth and a goo emerges from a rock. This goo latches onto a man's hand and later swallows him and gets bigger. McQueen and Aneta Corsaut (of Andy Griffith Show fame) portray teens who discover this alien and try to warn the adults but to no avail as the creature gets bigger and bigger from the people it engulfs. It would have gotten a higher rating if the creature was featured more. Interesting movie, though.

Adamantium
06-17-2005, 09:08 PM
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

5 stars (out of 5)

Jim Carrey
Kate Winslet
Kirsten Dunst
Mark Ruffalo
Elijah Wood

This is not a regular Jim Carrey movie. It's funny, but not the silly humor he's known for.

The Plot - No spoilers, it just gives the story of the movie.

Carrey plays a guy named Joel. His girlfriend, Clementine, has gotten her memories of him erased. A doctor has the technology and made a business out of it. Upset over finding out she erased her memories of him, Joel does the same thing. The movie shows inside Joel's mind as Clementine, and all of his memories of her, are getting erased. However, once it starts to happen, he changes his mind. Joel tries to figure a way of keeping Clementine in is memories.

This movie also has one of the best soundtracks ever.

Adamantium
06-17-2005, 09:17 PM
The Wrong Guy

4 stars (out of 5)

Dave Foley
David Higgins
Jennifer Tilly
Colim Feore

Dave Foley is Nelson Hibbert, a slightly weird guy who works in an office. After getting passed by for a promised promotion, he gets upset and threatens to kill his boss. Later, when he goes to give the boss a peice of his mind, Nelson finds the boss dead, with a knife in his back. Nelson screams and freaks out, grabbing the knife and getting blood all over his hands and suit. Convinced that all of this would make it look like he killed the man, Nelson goes on the lam. However, the cops knew all along who the real killer was, thanks to security cameras (I didn't give away the ending, that's all done in the first ten minutes of the movie). Anyways, Nelson goes on the road and runs into the real killer, who believes Nelson is onto him, which he isn't. Nelson meets and falls in love with a woman, along the way (Still, I didn't give away anything, it all happens fairly early in the film).

This movie was intended to be released theatrically, but was not. This movie, which was the winner of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival for Best Screenplay, can only be viewed on DVD (and maybe VHS, I don't know).